Thoughts on Prayer

A young woman in her 30s, the mother of two small children, is diagnosed with cancer. Her family and friends pray fervently to God for her healing. But after a year of grueling surgery and treatments, the cancer spreads and she passes away. This is a heart-breaking situation, and most people know of someone who has gone through a similar ordeal. 

When something like this happens, people ask the obvious question: why didn’t God answer our prayers?

This is one of the frustrating aspects of religious faith. We pray for certain things to happen, such as a physical healing. Sometimes our prayers are answered and the person is healed, and other times the person gets even sicker and eventually dies. It seems God completely ignored our prayers.

The Bible and the Church teach us that God hears our prayers and that He takes delight in answering them. If that is the case, then why are there so many examples of sincere, desperate prayers NOT being answered?

There is an age-old question, which was the title of a popular book many years ago: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” That question is one of the primary reasons some folks lose their faith. It’s fair to ask how a good God can sit back and let so many terrible tragedies happen to innocent people.

I wish I had a simple answer to that question, but I don’t. There are, however, a couple of things we should keep in mind when pondering this issue.

First, from God’s point of view, our entire time on earth, even if we live to be 95 years old, is like a fraction of a second compared to eternity in Heaven. Yes, when a young person succumbs to a fatal disease, it is tragic — from our early point of view. But the Bible tells us that Heaven is a place where tears are wiped from our eyes forever. When the soul of the person who died young enters Heaven, I suspect he or she laughs with joy and says, “Wow, being sick and dying young is no big deal, now that I’m here!”

Of course, if there is no God and no eternal life, then all the tragedies of life are just that: tragedies. But entering into eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom is how all the tragedies of earth can be made right. Instead of a drama with a sad, tragic ending, our lives become a grand saga with a happy ending — although since we’re talking about Eternity, the happiness actually never ends.

Another thing to consider: Scripture teaches us that the pain and suffering of this world are the result of sin. When our original ancestors, Adam and Eve, rebelled against the divine Creator, it caused paradise to become a fallen world. Pain and heartache and death were the unfortunate result of sin.

God proved that he truly loves us when He sent His one and only Son to suffer and die, which paid the price for sin. This stunning act of sacrificial love made it possible for us to be reconciled back to our Creator and enter into eternal heavenly joy. 

Does a grieving young man, standing next to his wife’s coffin with his two children by his side, want to hear that our time on earth is a fraction of a second compared to Heaven, and that Jesus paid the price for our sin? Not really. What he needs at that moment is for someone to silently weep with him. Why? Because the pain and heartache of death are real, and the only thing worse than grieving the death of a loved one is doing it alone.

Why doesn’t God answer all our prayers the way we want Him to? I wish I knew. It’s a divine mystery. But God went to so much trouble to make it possible for us to enter into Heaven for all eternity, it’s obvious He loves us more than we can comprehend.

When we grieve and weep over the tragedies of life, we can be sure that God weeps with us. That may not be very comforting when we’re in the throes of sorrow, but later on it can bring great comfort. In the meantime, keep praying. And when necessary, silently weep with those who are grieving.